Stebbing Tennis Club News Articles

Quiz Night - 7pm, 16th November 2019

Nicola Douglas — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 10:07:35 +0100

If you haven’t seen the posters and flyers flying around.. our quiz night is taking place on Saturday 16th November. We hope that you can come along and join us for what promises to be a very pleasurable evening!

The questions and puzzles will be even more random than last year, to cater for every kind of brain.

Your food for thought this year will be a fish and chip supper and there will be a bar for some cognitive lubrication. The evening kicks off at 7pm and pens at the ready at 7:30pm.

Once again it is being held in the Stebbing Village Hall.

Ideally we would like you to make up teams/tables of 8! But no worries if you can’t... we will find you some friends!

£10 per head.

Please contact... Emma: 07834665427 or Josh: 07895483019 to secure your plaice.

Whist Drive

Nicola Douglas — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 13:25:47 +0100

Saturday, 28th September 2019

At Stebbing Friend’s Meeting House Bar Opens at 7:00pm, Prompt Start at 7:30pm

£10 per Head Inclusive of: Welcoming nibbles, Cheese & Ham, Ploughmans, Delicious Puddings

Licenced Cash Bar & Raffle

All proceeds to ‘Active with Parkinsons'

Please contact Liz Walthew for tickets - 07788 452878 or davies261@btinternet.com

Race Night 2019

Nicola Douglas — Fri, 03 May 2019 15:39:13 +0100

Race Night (with a twist!)

Please join us on Saturday 8th June!

At Stebbing Village Hall

Bar opens from 7.30pm

£5 per person / £40 per (s)table of 8

Min age – 12 yrs / Non members welcome

Bring your own nibbles

Licensed bar

£1 individual bets

To reserve your place/table, please contact:

Josh McDowall – 07895 483019 or Emma Fulcher – 07834 665427

Hospital Cup 2019

Nicola Douglas — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 17:23:35 +0000

The Hospital Cup Tournament is a charity event to raise funds for the League of Friends of Saffron Walden Community Hospital. Nine local clubs take part in the event, which comprises singles (ladies and men’s) and doubles (ladies, men’s and mixed) competitions. The event is run on a knockout basis throughout the summer, with matches being best of three sets. Each round has a four-five week playing window.

This year The Grove LTC has kindly offered to run the tournament and to host the Finals Day, which will be on Saturday 21st September 2019. There is no playing standard for the event, although the general expectation is for players to have competitive match experience. If you are not sure about the playing standard, please speak to your Club representative. If you would like to enter any of the events, please sign up on the relevant sheet. Entries must be submitted by Friday 12th April.

Entrants must be current members of their Club at the time of entry and Finals Day and you must be available on Finals Day. Please note that if you play in the top division of a county league or for your county, you are not eligible to enter.

If you have any queries about the event, please contact Tracy Warren.

Entry fees are £5 per singles entry and £10 per doubles entry.

Entry forms can be downloaded by clicking here:

Hospital Cup Singles

Hospital Cup Doubles

Hospital Cup Tournament Rules 2019

All players must be fully paid members of the participating club they are representing and can only represent one Club.

Players should not enter the tournament if they are not available on Finals Day, which is Saturday 21st September 2019.

Each match shall consist of three sets, the first two being tie-break sets and the third a long set.

It is the responsibility of both players/pairs in the draw to contact their opponents to arrange their match. The top player/pair has the home advantage. If by the play by date this has not happened, one player/pair will be drawn from a hat by the Tournament Secretary to proceed to the next round.

Each participating club must nominate a contact for the competition (the Club Representative).

It is the responsibility of the winning player or pair to notify their Club Representative of the result of their match within 48 hours of its completion and of both players or pairs to ensure that the result is entered on their own club master draw sheet, which should be displayed in their clubhouse. Club Representatives are responsible for entering the results of their players’ matches on the website as soon as possible after notification.

Players/pairs having difficulty in arranging matches for any reason should notify the Tournament Secretary at least three days before the deadline of any relevant round.

If a player turns up more than 20 minutes late for a match, the opposition may claim one set, if they wish.

It is the responsibility of the home player/pair/club to supply NEW balls for the match.

In any dispute, the decision of the Tournament Committee shall be final.

A player is eligible if they do not currently play in the top division of any county league and they are not aware that they will be playing in the top division of any county league before Finals Day. If however a player subsequently plays in the top division of any county league after the closing date for entries and before Finals Day, they will become ineligible, subject to the decision of the committee.

In the event of any finalist(s) not playing their final on Finals Day for any reason other than bad weather, the title and trophy will be awarded to the other finalist(s).

The Order of Play on Finals Day will be the Men’s and Ladies’ Singles followed by the Men’s and Ladies’ Doubles, and then the Mixed Doubles final. Any changes in the Order of Play will be at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.

Hospital Cup Tournament - Background

Many players take part in the Hospital Cup Tournament without knowing much about the Charity or the history behind the tournament. The Committee hopes that players will find this information sheet useful and it will help to attract new players into the tournament.

The tournament dates back to the 1940’s and the trophies are something to behold! All proceeds from the Hospital Cup Tournament go to:

THE LEAGUE OF FRIENDS OF SAFFRON WALDEN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL (Radwinter Road)

Initially the Hospital Cup Tournament was set up to raise funds for the Saffron Walden & District Charitable Welfare Association. This association was founded as a consequence of the absorbing of the town’s voluntary General Hospital into the newly formed National Health Service in 1948. At this time, the Hospital’s trust funds were retained, and formed the initial investment capital of the Association. This was given the title ‘Saffron Walden and District Hospitals Trust Fund Association’. The title was later amended from ‘Hospital Trust Fund’ to ‘Charitable Welfare’ to reflect more appropriately its objectives and activities.

In 2008 this association was wound up and the League of Friends became the focus for fundraising for the Hospital Cup. Avocet Ward at the Community Hospital was recently built, and the League of Friends has been heavily involved in the fundraising for the development and equipping of this facility.

This rehabilitation unit is a facility within the hospital that provides services such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy. These services enhance the patients’ stay within the hospital and potentially enable the patient to return home earlier than they would normally have done.

The new facilities are suitable to provide patients with intensive therapy and with dedicated facilities such as a bathroom, kitchen, etc. which assist patients in coping with daily life before they return home.

The League of Friends continues to support this facility and the Community Hospital in general. All monies raised by our tournament will therefore benefit all future patients.

2019 Diary Dates

Nicola Douglas — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 10:10:56 +0000

We hope you are all fit and ready for the new season!

We have a very busy and action packed year ahead. Time to dig out your diaries and make a note of the events we have planned for you all.

April 14th: Spring Working Party

We are always looking for willing volunteers to help out at our working parties. So whether you are a dab hand with a paintbrush, a menace with a mower or just a novice with a rake, there are jobs to be done to help keep the club looking fresh as we enter the new season. Many hands make light work. We hope to see you there any time from 8.30am. Bring your racket too for some titivating and tennis.

April 25th: Opening Clubnight

Pimms o'clock! Just like a regular club night, just with more alcohol, fun and merriment to raise a glass or three to the new tennis season. From 6pm.

April 28th: Bacon Buttie's morning

A follow on from our opening club night. We've swapped the booze with tea and coffee and the bacon butties are back by popular demand. From 10.30am.

May 12th: Family BBQ

A great afternoon for those tennis families and non-tennis families alike. Come join us for all things tennis and all things flame grilled.

June 8th: Race Night

We are very excited to announce a new event for the Stebbing Tennis Club diary! For those who aren't quite sure what a race night is and what it entails, don't worry! All will be revealed. For those seasoned racers out there, forget what you already know as this is a race night with a difference! It would be great if you could join us for what promises to be a fun, action-packed, alternative evening. More details to follow in due course.

June 9th: Gnome Tournament

A really fun mixed tournament with the added bonus of raising some decent money for charity. If you would like to be part of it and be in with the chance of winning the famous garden gnome. To enter, contact Josh - joshuamcdowall@hotmail.co.uk

June 30th: Junior Tournament

The tennis players of the future go head to head and battle it out to become junior champions.

July 14th: The Davies Cup.

A generation tournament combining both youth and experience with a slice of Wimbledon for dessert. More info to follow in due course.

September 15th: Club Championship Finals Day

This competitive in-club competition sorts the men from the boys and the women from the girls unless you enter the mixed that is!
If you fancy trying your luck in the mens doubles, mens singles, ladies doubles, ladies singles, mixed doubles or all of them, grab a partner before they get snapped up or go it alone. If you wish to enter this year's competition please contact Will Hales .

September 21st: Hospital Cup Finals Day

A slightly more serious competition open to other clubs. For more information and to enter the competition, please contact Tracy Warren .

Another Quiz Night is also on the cards. Watch this space...

LTA Membership

Nicola Douglas — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 16:24:42 +0000

Stebbing Tennis Club is now officially an LTA Registered Venue with British Tennis!

Check out our listing on the LTA website!

Benefits

Being an officially registered venue gives the club access to several British Tennis benefits:

Free public liability insurance – this will save us several hundred pounds on our club insurance costs.
All club members are eligible for the British Tennis Lite Membership (free of charge) and, once signed up as a British Tennis Member, can access the Wimbledon Ballot. See below for full details.
Access to several funding opportunities for club development projects.
Access to a myriad of different resources and support for tennis competitions, technology (website and apps that we will be investigating), business and legal advice, club and coach forums, and tennis equipment discounts.

Full details of all these benefits can be found by clicking here.

All British Tennis Registered Venues are required to have a Safeguarding Policy, a Diversity & Inclusion Policy, a Welfare Officer, relevant DBS checks and an annual Risk Assessment. All these policies and documents are displayed in the clubhouse either on the noticeboard or in the file in the bookshelf.

We are very grateful to Liz Martin who has volunteered to be our Welfare Officer.

We've been very lucky to negotiate a discount this year and the cost for us to register is reduced from £330 to £200.

Wimbledon Ballot

This is arguably the most attractive benefit to our members – full details of how you can get involved are set out below.

Please read the information below if you wish to be entered into the STC Wimbledon ballot for 2019.

To ensure the ticket allocation to venues is fair and equitable, venue allocations are determined by the number of British Tennis Members who are linked to Stebbing Tennis Club by 22 February 2019. The more members who sign up, the more tickets we are allocated - it only takes approx. 10 minutes to sign up!

Here’s what you need to do to ensure you are entered into our ballot:

If you are already a British Tennis Member, please login to your account, link your account to Stebbing Tennis Club and ensure you have opted into the Wimbledon ballot.

If you are NOT already a British Tennis Member, you can become a Lite Member free of charge or a Team Member for £20 (adult) or £10 (junior). The benefits of both memberships are stated on this page.

To become a British Tennis Member, please click on this link and follow the instructions for signing up.
When you are asked if you are a member of an LTA Registered Venue, you must click YES and enter Stebbing Tennis Club. If you are not linked to STC, your membership will not count towards our allocation of tickets and you will not qualify in our ballot.
Once you have registered, you need to go to your home page and opt in to the Wimbledon ballot. Opt in is not automatic. You will get an email confirming you have opted in if done correctly.

You must be signed up and opted in by 22 February 2019 to be entered in to STC’s ballot.

Any club member who is not a British Tennis Member linked to STC and who has not Opted In by this date cannot be included in our ballot.

If you have any questions, please contact our LTA contact, Kate Curtis-Evans.

Ladder League

Nicola Douglas — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 16:09:04 +0000

New for 2019!

A singles tennis ladder league is being introduced to provide members with an opportunity to play competitive yet friendly games of tennis against players of a comparative standard.

The ladder is intended to give players the basic structure on which to contact other members and have some fun challenge games. The rules are intended as a guide - use your own judgement and enjoy your matches. Please use the following rules with a degree of flexibility and good humour.

Assuming there is sufficient sign up across the club, it is intended that there will be separate ladder league for male and female members.

The Rules

You can challenge players who are no more than two places higher than you on the ladder.
New players wishing to join the ladder will be assigned two “flying challenges” (the ability to challenge anyone on the ladder) to ensure that all players find their appropriate level sooner.
Once a challenge has been set no other challenge can be taken on until the match has been played, cancelled or forfeited and the results entered.
If the Challenger wins the match, the Challenger moves to his Opponent’s position on the ladder while the Opponent drops down one place. Anyone in between the players will also move down one place. If the Challenger does not win, both players stay in their current positions.
Where the match is a flying challenge, the winner will take the place of the loser who will in turn drop one place on the ladder along with the players in between.
The date and time of any match should be mutually agreed by both players. A Challengee should respond to a challenge within seven days after being challenged and the match played within fourteen days of a challenge.
The Challenger is responsible for booking a court and providing reasonable match balls. When playing at Stebbing Tennis Club after dark, the players will be required to pay for using the club lights.
If any player fails to turn up for an arranged match the other player wins by default.
Unless otherwise agreed by both players, matches must be played to the best of three sets with tie breaks in sets 1 and 2 if required.
If a player makes a challenge and loses the match, the player must wait at least fourteen days before re-challenging the same player.
All match scores and forfeits should be reported to the Ladder Administrator.
The ladder will be updated on a regular basis on the club’s web site and displayed within the Club House. A copy of the ladder positions will also be circulated to participants on approximately a monthly basis.

Joining the Ladder League

Players wishing to join the ladder should do so by emailing the Ladder Administrator, Will Hales – please click here. Each player must provide a telephone number and where possible an email address where he/she can be reached for setting dates for matches.

Participants will be required to pay a £10 annual fee for participating in the ladder. Payment can be made in cash to the League administrator or transferred direct to the clubs account.

The ladder League will commence on 14th February 2019.

The initial ranking of the players on the ladder was set up by the League Administrator. It is likely to take a little while for sensible rankings on the ladder to be established, therefore if you feel that you would like to challenge a player higher than two places above you in the ladder during the first four months of the league then please do so. All players will have one “flying challenge”.

New members wishing to join the ladder after the league commencement date will be placed at the bottom, however to ensure that all players find their appropriate level sooner, all new players entering the league after 14th February 2019 will be entitled to two flying challenges.

The Club Committee reserves the right to amend the ladder rules at any time. Any rule changes will be communicated to all participants.

All this information is displayed in the clubhouse.

Quiz Night - 7pm, 24th November 2018

Nicola Douglas — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 21:08:19 +0000

We're delighted to announce that Saturday's Quiz Night raised approximately £960!

Many thanks to everyone who supported the event.

______________________________________________________________________________________

We look forward to seeing many of our members at our traditional quiz night at Stebbing Village Hall, Mill Lane, Stebbing CM6 3SL.

Please note the road closure on the night - see below.

Doors open at 7pm with the quiz starting promptly at 7.30pm.

Please feel free to bring crisps / nibbles with you. A hot meal of cottage pie will be served during the evening - a veggie option will also be available.

BYO - feel free to bring whatever drinks you like! We will be supplying bottled water on each table but apart from that, there will be no cash bar as such. Glasses will be provided too.

Payment for tickets will be taken on the night (£12 + £3 corkage fee per person) and we will also be holding our usual raffle.

Tables have been reserved in the following names:

Erika Taunton
Keith Hind
Bill Martin
Emma Fulcher
Mark Clark
Kate Curtis-Evans
Andy Tidiman
Jude Walthew
Nicola Douglas

For all queries, please contact Nicola Douglas: nicoladouglas100@gmail.com or 07720 931509

Stebbing High Street road closure:

A 200m section of Stebbing High Street will be closed for the whole of the Saturday between Brookend and Motts Yard - this is the section of the road around the church. These roadworks will affect traffic driving from the south - Felsted / Flitch Green / Little Dunmow in particular. The diversion will be via Dunmow. Alternatively, you could park up near the church and walk to the village hall.

Please take note and leave extra time for your journey so we can start the quiz promptly at 7.30pm. Many thanks.

Game, Set & Match October 2018

Nicola Douglas — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:53:47 +0100

Quiz Night - Saturday 24th November, 7pm

We hope you can join us for our traditional quiz night at Stebbing Village Hall, Mill Lane, Stebbing CM6 3SL. Doors open at 7pm with the quiz starting promptly at 7.30pm.

Please feel free to bring crisps / nibbles with you. A hot meal of cottage pie will be served during the evening - a veggie option will also be available.

Both alcoholic and soft drinks will be available from the bar.

Payment for tickets will be taken on the night (£12 per person) and we will also be holding our usual raffle.

11 tables are available, 8 have already been reserved. Please contact Nicola Douglas: nicoladouglas100@gmail.com or 07720 931509

Court maintenance

On Friday 19th October the courts will be having their annual moss treatment. We are also planning to replace lamps on courts 1 & 2 on this day, weather depending.

Courts 1 & 2 will be out of action all day, court 3 will only be out of action until lunchtime.

If any changes to coaching need to be made for this day, Sheetal will be in touch with anyone affected.

Bags in clubhouse

There seem to be a growing number of large tennis bags being brought into the clubhouse and left on the floor, especially on clubnight. So as to reduce trip hazards in the limited space we have, please can large bags be left in cars unless it's absolutely necessary to bring them inside. Many thanks,

Floodlight tokens

Now that the nights are drawing in, the floodlights will be required for evening tennis. Tokens for the lights can be bought at the club on a Thursday evening or Sunday morning from any committee member. They cost £5 each and last for 1 hour.

LTA

The committee has recently agreed that STC should apply for LTA membership. There are several benefits including access to funding opportunities, free insurance and of course access to the Wimbledon ballot. The cost is £330 per year but we would receive a £200 discount in the first year.

There is quite a bit of paperwork to complete for the application - many thanks to Kate Curtis-Evans who is kindly doing this for us.

One thing we will need in order to qualify for LTA membership is a Welfare Officer ... see below.

Welfare Officer

We are looking to appoint a welfare officer, ideally a club member or a parent of a junior member. Are you qualified and willing to take on this role? If so, please contact any member of the committee. Many thanks.

League News

The results of the 2017/8 winter league are (finally!) in and we're delighted to announce that our Ladies 1 Team finished top of Division 1 and has been promoted to Premier Division for the winter matches. Well done to all the ladies who played in some awful conditions last year.

Despite the warm summer, there are still some matches to be played prior to the end of the 2018 summer league season.

Following the Fixtures Meeting, the dates for the 2018/9 winter matches have now mostly been agreed so team captains have or will soon be seeking teams for over the winter months. All these matches have now been entered into the online calendar.

Mens 1 Team: We are currently sitting very near the top of our division and have one match to play. Dunmow are our nearest rivals so the outcome will depend on what points we can gain from our last fixture. Mark

Mens 2 Team: The latest league tables show our Mens 2 Team in 3rd position out of 5. A big thank you to Andy Bott who has run this team for the last 2 years. He has now stepped down from the role and Stan Ryman has very kindly taken over responsibility for managing it. Anyone who would like to play can contact Stan at stanryman@yahoo.co.uk.

Ladies 1 Team: We have played 8 out the 10 matches to be played having either won or drawn all of the matches. This makes us in third place in the division with two matches to play. We are, therefore, in contention of winning the Division depending on the results of the last two matches. Tracy

Ladies 2 Team: We have now finished the summer league with some fantastic matches. We are still at the top of the division but there are still a few teams that haven’t played all their matches so this could change. Shady

Mixed 1 Team: We've had a very successful summer season with all matches won so far apart from a 6-10 loss. We are currently topping the table. Let's continue this winning form into the winter season which is now fast approaching. Josh

Mixed 2 Team: We have played seven of the eight matches to be played and are currently second place in the Division. Based on the matches still to be played, it is likely we will remain in second place at the end of the season.Tracy

Mixed 3 Team: The new Mixed 3 Team had a very good first summer season, winning 3 drawing 4 and losing only one of our 8 matches and just missing out on promotion to Braughing. A big thanks to everybody that took part.
We will also be running the Mixed 3 Team in the winter league, with our first game home to Stansted on the 6th November. Anyone who would like to play can contact me at stanryman@yahoo.co.uk. Stan

Baby news ...

Last but by no means least, many congratulations to Jude, James, Isla, Freddie, Steve & Liz who welcomed their new baby, Robyn Alice, into their family today.

Need committee contact details? Click here ...

Game, Set & Match July 2018

Nicola Douglas — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 12:31:40 +0100

Club Championships – Finals Date: Sunday 9th September

The Finals will be held on Sunday September 9th from 1pm. Everyone is welcome to come along and support the day.

If anyone can help and provide refreshments for the afternoon, please contact Josh McDowall.

The deadline for completing all first round men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles matches is Sunday 19th August which is fast approaching. Please make sure you get all your matches played by this date and send Josh all your scores. The semi finals line up will be announced on August 20th.

Hospital Cup – Finals Date: Saturday 22nd September

This is an inter club charity knock-out tournament which started in April with the finals being played on 22nd September. A number of STC members of the club entered all the five categories (mens and ladies singles, mens, ladies and mixed doubles) and we still have representatives in all categories except the mens doubles.

Finals Day is being hosted this year by Stebbing Tennis Club and members are very welcome to come and cheer on the players. This is a big day for our club as we will be welcoming quite a number of players and supporters from other local clubs - it’s a wonderful opportunity to show off our club and our facilities.

We will require help on the day providing refreshments and serving drinks - all offers will be gladly accepted. Please contact Tracy Warren, Nicola Douglas or Sabina Bird.

Summer Junior Tennis Camps

Sheetal will be running summer holiday tennis camps at the club during the weeks of 30th July and 13th August.

For full details and to download registration forms, please click HERE.

Membership

Club membership is slightly up on last year but we always welcome new faces. If this year’s Wimbledon has inspired any of your friends, please encourage them to join.

Facilities

A big thank you to everyone who has helped mowing the grass, cutting hedges, cleaning the clubhouse, and fixing broken things over the past few months! Compared to some other local clubs, our facilities are extremely well maintained thanks to the help we have from our members.

We will soon be erecting a low fence on the grassy area between the ramp to the clubhouse and the area where the bike rack used to be. This fence is to stop children and dogs from running into the car park. A section of the fence will be demountable so cars may access the grassed area if necessary. Graham, Josh and Will are overseeing the construction which is being done at minimal cost.

To cater for our larger events, the committee felt we needed more chairs or benches available. Members may have noticed that one of the benches has suffered irrepairable damage recently and another has had to be fixed. As benches are considerably more expensive than chairs and chairs can be easily stacked and stored in the container, we opted to buy 20 new plastic chairs. These are white rather than the preferred green but in choosing white ones, the committee saved the club £130.

The ride on mower was not being used and has now been sold. A new push along mower has been bought with the proceeds as well as a wheel barrow which we felt would be a very useful addition to the club.

The bike rack has moved to the back top corner of the car park - please use the rack rather than propping bikes up against the railings.

League News

The Summer League matches are well underway following the earlier start to the season and the wonderful weather (not for the garden which could do with some rain!).

Mens 1 Team: We scraped past Much Hadham to win 9-7, we got a 16-0 walkover against Newport and a good win over Dunmow 13-3 so we've now won 4 out of 4 matches. Currently in 2nd position in the division, 6 clubs in the division. Mark

Mens 2 Team: Currently in 3rd position in their division, 5 clubs in the division.

Ladies 1 Team: We have won all 4 of the 10 matches to be played and, taking account of the recent matches played, should be second in the division - 6 clubs in the division. Tracy

Ladies 2 Team: So, we have started the summer season off with great results winning 3 and losing 2. We are top of our division so far but The Grove are only 4 points behind us. 3 matches are left for the summer so hoping to stay on top and get promoted. Shady

Mixed 1 Team: We have played 4 and won 4. Long may this run continue. Currently in 2nd position in their division, 5 clubs in the division. Josh

Mixed 2 Team: We have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 2 of the 8 matches to be played and are currently top of our division - 5 clubs in the division. Tracy

Mixed 3 Team: The new Mixed 3 Team has started the season well with 2 wins and 2 draws but lost at home to a strong Braughing team on Saturday. Currently in 2nd position in the division with 40 points after 5 games. Henham are top with 53 points after 5 games. 5 clubs in the division.
The purpose of the Mixed 3rd Team is to give everybody a chance who would like to try their hand at playing league games for the club. So far I would like to say a big thanks to Liz Davis, Liz Martin, Maz Dowding, Sabina Bird, Shady Townsend, Rorie Graty, Andy Bott, Andy Tidiman, Bill Martin and Harvey Townsend Jones for playing. And if anyone else would like to get involved, let me know - stanryman@yahoo.co.uk. I still need players for Henham away on 28th July at 1pm. Stan

We are still waiting to find out the final positions of the winter league.